Tuesday, December 15, 2015

by John B. Green IIISince time out of mind, Europeans have been bringing evergreen foliage into their homes and sacred places at this time of year. It served to give hope of renewed life during the bleakness of winter.Eastern North Carolinians continued the tradition, especially after decorating for Christmas became popular in the mid-19th century. A variety of native evergreen trees, shrubs, and vines were enlisted to give a festive air to homes, businesses, and churches. You could gather your own greenery or buy it from farmers and other country dwellers who made extra money at Christmas time by harvesting wagon loads of holly and cedar for sale in the towns and cities.

Morning New Bernian, 19 December 1922.

The Daily Journal (New Bern), 20 December 1905.

For garlands and arrangements natives such as American Holly,

American Holly, Ilex opaca

Loblolly Pine,

Loblolly Pine, Pinus taeda

and the oddly named Bamboo Vine, could be used.

Bamboo Vine, Smilax laurifolia

Bamboo or Bamboo Vine was the local name for a species of Smilax. How a native woody vine acquired the name of an Asian grass is lost to the ages, but it is still known by that name among older Carolinians.For Christmas trees, the universal favorite was the native Red Cedar which came complete with bluish-white berries for ornaments.

Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana

And finally, that old trouble-maker, Mistletoe. The European mistletoe revered by the ancients had a number of American counterparts. In this area it was the Eastern Mistletoe with green leaves and glossy white berries that was used. It served well as both decoration and romantic diversion.

Eastern Mistletoe, Phoradendron serotinum

All these native plants still grow in abundance in Eastern North Carolina, but they have mostly been replaced with non-native firs and various plastic replicas. Perhaps it's time to revive a few of the old ways and deck the halls with holly and pine and bamboo vine!

Monday, November 23, 2015

by John B. Green IIIWith Thanksgiving nearly upon us, it goes without saying that all you folks out there have already secured turkey and ham and dressing and vegetables of all kinds and styles, as well as pickles and relishes and other appropriate delicacies for your family feast. This does not concern us here at the Kellenberger Room. What does concern us here is dessert. Proper dessert. Dessert for Thanksgiving. What have you done about the dessert situation? That's what we thought.Fear not. To the rescue comes a fifty-five-year-old New Bern cookbook entitled From the Baron's Kitchen: Proven Recipes of Coastal Carolina. Compiled about 1960 by the Mary Bryan Hollister Bible Class of First Presbyterian Church, it contains many excellent dishes by some of New Bern's best cooks.

What follows are four proper desserts for the coming feast: sweet potato pudding, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and pound cake. A word about the pound cake: this is a recipe for REAL pound cake, not the adulterated, fat-free, sugar-free, taste-free pound cake of these latter days. Sugar and butter are called for in ONE POUND measures. You only live once.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

by John B. Green IIIIn time for Halloween we present tales of local wandering . . . Things . . . sure to keep you indoors and under the covers.
From the New Bern Weekly Journal of 7 Jan 1908.An itinerant furniture mender, who arrived in the city yesterday, told a weird story of being chased along the road on his way here by bears or spooks, or something he is not sure what. He was working his way from Kinston to New Bern, when night over took him between Cove and Tuscarora. It's a lonely road on which no one lives, and there are at least one or two old places, once tenanted, but now deserted, which are said to be haunted. Anyway. as the traveler was coming along, a strange noise began just behind him, and as he quickened his pace the noise followed faster, and although it was not a John Gilpin ride, the old man said he made the dust fly until he reached Tuscarora. He says he don't expect to ever pass along there again at night.

From the New Bern Daily Journal of 9 Dec 1885.

Our friend, Abner Dawson was at Trenton a few days ago in one of his fine humors, said that a few nights since while sitting around his family fire discussing about jack-o'lanterns [strange lights which cause persons to become hopelessly lost by leading them into woods and swamps], his son went to the door and called him and pointed out a light to him which proved to be jack-o'lantern himself first ever he saw. Abner says just let it make its appearance again and he intends to go to it.
From the New Bern Daily Journal of 24 Oct 1893.

Mr. B.S. Edwards, who superintends the farm of Mr. Fred Bray situated on Neuse road about three miles from the city, relates to us a most singular story. For seven or eight nights in succession with the exception of one night, some peculiar object has been seen and heard near the premises. It resembles a man of rather low stature and with drooped shoulders and humped back, and gives forth a groaning sound. Once or twice it came right up to the house and into the piazza when Mr. Edwards got his gun and fired at the object, but it only gave a slight bound upward and disappeared. Its tramping can be distinctly heard on nearly every visit and once it approached the pump and the handle commenced going exactly as though some person was pumping water. Sunday night it was observed by Mrs. Bray, and her husband and Mr. Edwards both ran around the house in opposite directions, thinking they would be very apt to get up with the phantom or whatever being it was, but as before it disappeared and yet remains a mystery.

And finally, from the New Bern Daily Nut Shell [as reprinted in the Boston Daily Globe of May 4, 1876]

Mr. Thomas Land, living in Pamlico County, about twenty miles from this city, informed us, Saturday, that on Friday night, after he had retired, he heard his dogs barking furiously in the yard, and went to the back door to ascertain the cause. On opening the door a sight met his gaze which froze his blood. Just in front of him - so close that he could feel the heat - was suspended in the air a large ball of fire, about the size and in the shape of a woman. On his making an exclamation of horror, his wife became alarmed and rushed to the door to see what was the matter. When she discovered the fire-woman (we will call it), she immediately fainted. After putting his wife on the bed, Mr. Land informs us that he lay down and "covered up head and ears." Shortly thereafter, the ball of fire passed around his house, and although the night was a dark one, Mr. Land says one could easily see how to pick up a pin in any part of the house because of the great flood of light from the fire-woman.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

With the approach of Hurricane Joaquin, now is as good a time as any to share some photographs of the damage done to eastern North Carolina by a previous hurricane, the Great Storm of 1933. The photos are from a newspaper supplement published by the Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia newspapers - A Pictorial Record of Tidewater's Worst Storm . . . North Carolina Edition: Story of Storm's Damage in North Carolina September 16, 1933. The four-page interior section contains photos of North Carolina's September 1933 hurricane, many of which have not been seen since that time.

The Great Storm of '33 ravaged eastern North Carolina September 15th and 16th with winds estimated at 125 mph and storm surge levels higher than any ever recorded. Carteret County was especially hard hit, as was New Bern and almost all areas along the sounds of North Carolina. Damage in New Bern alone was estimated at more than $1 million. It's no wonder that local folks thereafter gauged subsequent hurricanes against the Storm of '33.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Last month we heard from Mrs. Polly Chadwick concerning her shockingly dim view of the average Union soldier. Today we hear from Miss Mary Attmore on much the same subject. North Carolina Women of the Confederacy, pp 18-19.

Among the splendid women of New Berne Miss Mary Attmore is an outstanding figure. Not only for her memorial work after the war, but for her indomitable courage and forceful character during the capture of New Berne. When this town had been taken by the Yankees Miss Attmore, as one of the most prominent of its women, was kept as one of the hostages to insure the safety of the Federals within, as they were in constant fear that New Berne would be fired on by troops without. In spite of the protests of her relations Miss Attmore refused to leave her home, but lived alone without fear. Twice she was almost choked to death by "bummers" who were intent to plunder, but miraculously escaped. In the grey of an early morning she awoke to find several Yankees digging up the graves in the family burial ground on her estate. Without hesitation or calling for help, this independent woman with great dignity of learning, appeared amongst the marauders, commanding them to put down their shovels at once, exclaiming "Is it possible that you could be guilty of such a dastardly trick as to dig open the graves of our ancestors!" The men, to the amazement of neighbors who witnessed the scene, not only removed their caps, but began replacing the earth on the graves and departed, leaving this free spoken and courageous woman in possession of her dead.

By her ready wit, free speech and fearlessness she compelled the admiration of her captors and was allowed greater liberty than the other residents of New Berne.

[Note: Miss Mary Attmore (c.1795-1884) was the daughter of William Attmore and Sarah Sitgreaves, his wife, and sister of George S. Attmore. -John B. Green III]

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Mrs. Polly Chadwick, an original character with a keen sense of humor, was an elderly widow who had to use her wit as well as her common sense to help herself over many a rough place. She could cajole Gen. Burnside and obtain her point. For instance, she would say, "Well, General, if you will guess my riddle it will show you what a time I have had chasing your thieves around." Then the riddle: "Through a rock, and through a reel, through an old spinning wheel, though a sheep's shank bone, such a riddle never was known." Burnside generally gave it up and gave up anything else that Mrs. Polly requested.

One day Mrs. Polly saw Foster's soldiers drumming a man out of the army with great ceremony. A huge board showing the word "Thief," was strapped to the man's back. "Hoity toity!" said Mrs. Polly, "what has the poor fellow done?" "He has been stealing," replied the soldier, "he is a thief." "Why, man alive," exclaimed Mrs. Polly with admiration, "You have undertaken a mighty big task, for if you drum all the thieves out of your army you'll not be able to find trees enough in North Carolina to furnish the boards to their backs."

[Note: Although the exact identity of Mrs. Polly Chadwick is not known, she may have been the Mrs. Mary "Polly" Chadwick, widow of John Chadwick, who died in New Bern on April 7, 1884, aged 83 years. Her obituary reads in part, "Mrs. Polly Chadwick, as she was familiarly known, was a universal favorite with the citizens of this city. Her genial nature, frank and candid demeanor, and jovial disposition claimed the admiration of all who were brought in contact with her, and it may be truly said that, none knew her but to love her." Sounds to this blogger like someone who may have been able to stand up to a Union general. - John B. Green III]

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

A Fourth of July celebration from long agoBy John B. Green IIIWith the nation's birthday fast approaching, here are a few excerpts from the account of the Fourth of July celebration which took place in New Bern on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of our independence.

Newbern Sentinel, July 8, 1826.

FOURTH OF JULY

On Tuesday last, the 50th anniversary of our Independence was celebrated in our Town, with more than common enthusiasm. This was as it should be, for when we look back upon the last half century, and trace the rapidity of our progress in prosperity and importance, who can help exclaiming: - If there has ever been an event calculated to draw forth the effusions of a grateful heart, and elevate the mind to the sublimity of patriotism, - If there has ever been a day whose beams, darting though the mists of years, fall upon mankind to venerate its anniversary - that event is the Declaration of our Independence, and that day, the 4th July, 1776.
The morning was ushered in by a Jubilee Salute of 50 guns; and could the roar have been heard across the Atlantic, it would have startled the ear of every tyrant that tramples on a people's rights!

The salute was followed by a feu de joie, by the Newbern Light Infantry, while the merry peals of the bells assisted to welcome the return of the hallowed epoch.

At half past nine o'clock, the procession of soldiers and citizens was formed on the Academy Green, and from thence proceeded to the Baptist Church, in which, on the right of the pulpit, was suspended a splendid framed engraving of the Declaration, and on the left, our keen eyed Eagle spread forth his wings upon the blue bosom of our country's flag

The ceremonies of the day commenced with an appropriate prayer from the Rev. Joseph A. Warne; after which, the following remarks,
prefatory to reading the Declaration of Independence, were made by John Rains, Esq. . . .

The citizens were then addressed by Edward G. Pasteur, Esq. . . .

At 3 o'clock, a number of citizens sat down to an Elegant Dinner, in the hall of the Masonic Lodge; and after the cloth was removed, the following toasts were drunk, welcomed by the roar of artillery and cheerful huzzas. [thirty-three toasts follow]

Early in the evening, the company broke up in perfect harmony, and about 8 o'clock, the celebration closed with a display of Fire Works.

Friday, May 29, 2015

"The Beach at Beaufort Harbor, North Carolina" from John L. Stoddard, Scenic America, c. 1895.

By John B. Green III
It seems incredible today, but there was once a time when windmills were nearly as common along the coast of North Carolina as they were in Holland. Used primarily as grist mills to grind corn or wheat into meal or flour, they numbered in the hundreds and could be found wherever unimpeded access to reliable winds existed. They were the only practical type of mill along the outermost coastal plain and the barrier islands where broad estuaries and low elevations usually precluded the erection of mill-dams and water-powered mills

W.D. Murray mill near Fairfield, Hyde County, postcard ca. 1910.

Documents and photographs indicate that the predominant type of windmill erected in coastal North Carolina was the "post" mill. In a post mill the entire mill structure housing the machinery rotated around a large, heavily braced central post. A tail pole extending downward from the mill and terminating in a wheel could be pushed by the miller around a track to change the orientation of the mill to match the prevailing winds.

So, how many windmills were there and where were they located? The late Onslow County historian Tucker R. Littleton documented one hundred and fifty-five windmills existing in coastal North Carolina between 1748 and 1900! Carteret County led the list with 65 documented windmills with the rest being found from Brunswick County in the south to Currituck County in the north and as far inland as the towns of Washington and New Bern. And yet, by 1920 the coast's windmills were gone. By the time Littleton conducted his research in 1979 and 1980 he could find few who remembered the windmills and many who expressed outright disbelief that such mills had ever existed. What happened?

Windmill near Morehead City, Carteret County, postcard ca. 1910.

The downfall of coastal North Carolina's windmills came about through changing technology. Beginning in the late 19th century with the introduction of small steam-powered grist mills and continuing into the early 20th century with the arrival of portable gasoline-powered milling equipment, the old wind-powered mills were gradually abandoned. Dismantled or simply left to fall apart, they soon disappeared from the windswept landscape they had dominated for nearly 200 years.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

In October 1866 a number of New Bern women came together to form the Ladies Memorial Association. They were the near relatives of deceased Confederate soldiers and their aim was to see to the proper burial of their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers. These men lay in hastily dug graves scattered across the city and the countryside. Some lay abandoned in distant fields and woods hundreds of miles from where they had been born and raised. By November the ladies had secured a large lot in Cedar Grove Cemetery on which to construct a tomb. The cornerstone of the structure was laid May 2, 1867. When completed at the cost of $3,000 this remarkable subterranean brick vault measured approximately sixty feet in length by ten feet in width with the floor of the tomb being approximately twelve feet beneath the surface. The remains of seventy-one Confederate soldiers were then placed in the tomb. In subsequent years the Ladies Memorial Association sought to erect a suitable marker above the tomb. Constructed in stages over ten years the large marble monument topped by a life-sized Confederate soldier was dedicated on May 11, 1885.

Through the years the Ladies Memorial Association (later the New Bern Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy) made annual pilgrimages to decorate the monument and the graves of Confederate veterans buried in private plots across the cemetery. The commemorations usually fell on or about May 10th, the anniversary of the death in 1863 of Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, and the date chosen by North Carolina and South Carolina as Confederate Memorial Day. These events consisted of speeches and floral presentations and the reading and singing of poems and songs extolling the "Lost Cause" of the late Confederacy and the bravery and sacrifice of the Southern soldiers and those they left behind. Attendance sometimes numbered in the hundreds and included veterans, school children, ministers, and public officials.

Confederate Memorial Day remained popular in New Bern and throughout the South well into the 20th century although attendance declined as the veterans and those closest to them passed away. The last addition to the memorial in Cedar Grove Cemetery occurred on May 10, 1955 when a large granite and bronze marker was dedicated. Supplied by the Department of the Army, through the auspices of Congressman Graham A. Barden, the marker listed the Confederate soldiers interred in the tomb beneath the monument.

Today the public celebration of Confederate Memorial Day is a fading memory in New Bern and elsewhere. The New Bern Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy ceased to exist more than thirty years ago. Yet the 10th of May in Cedar Grove Cemetery usually finds a small flag or flower or card placed by some person or persons unknown. Someone still remembers.

Anonymous tribute left May 10, 1994 following the vandalism of the Confederate tomb.

Friday, April 17, 2015

or how a persistent portrait painter pursued the president (and later became a resident of New Bern)

By John B. Green III

Portrait of George Washington, 1794, by William J. Williams. Frontispiece, William J. Williams, Portrait Painter and his Descendants, 1933.

In the year 1792 the American portraitist William Joseph Williams hit upon the idea of drawing a pastel portrait of George Washington. He doubtless sought to further his career, like so many before him, by securing the patronage of the first president (as well as profiting from the sale of copies of the portrait!) Obtaining a letter of introduction from Henry Lee, governor of Virginia, Williams presented himself to General Washington in Philadelphia on July 2, 1792. The meeting did not go well. Writing to Lee the next day, Washington vented his displeasure at the imposition.

Your letter of the 20th ultimo, was presented to me yesterday by Mr. Williams, who as a professional man may or may not be for aught I know, a luminary of the first magnitude. But to be frank, and I hope you will not be displeased with me for being so, I am heartily tired of the attendance, which, from one cause or another has been given to these people, and it is now more than two years since I have resolved to sit no more for any of them, and have adhered to it, except in instances where it has been requested by public bodies, or for a particular purpose (not of the painters), and could not without offense be refused.

I have been led to make this resolution for another reason, besides the irksomeness of sitting, and the time I lose by it, which is, that these productions have in my estimation been made use of as a sort of tax on individuals, by being engraved, and that badly, and hawked about and advertised for sale.

William Williams was undeterred. Approaching the Alexandria, Virginia masonic lodge (where Washington was a member and had been master of the lodge at its chartering) he offered to paint a portrait of the president for the lodge if they would approach Washington for his permission.
They did, with the assistance of Henry Lee, and Washington relented. The painting was completed and presented to the lodge October 25, 1794 where it remains to this day. In the image Washington is shown wearing his masonic regalia as Past Master of the lodge.

Williams continued to paint in the Philadelphia area until 1801 when he relocated to Charleston, South Carolina. In 1804 he moved his family to New Bern where he remained until returning to New York in 1807. He was back in New Bern by 1817 and lived here until his death on November 30, 1823 at the age of 65. He was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery.

Detail of a photograph from 1861 showing house and store occupied by William Williams, northeast corner of Broad and Middle streets. New Bern Historical Society

The same building as above, much altered, photo ca. 1933. William J. Williams, Portrait Painter and his Descendants, 1933.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

or how a business man and an architect "overhauled" an 18th century house

By John B. Green III

Coor-Bishop House, 200 block New Street, detail from a ca. 1900 photograph. New Bern-Craven County Public Library

To most observers the structure known today as the Coor-Bishop House appears to be an early 20th century example of the Colonial Revival movement in American architecture. Few realize that it is in fact a colonial structure dating from the late 1770s. The house visible today is the result of the 1906-1907 remodeling of a much older structure.

Coor-Bishop House, detail from a ca. 1900 photograph, showing the gable end of the house facing the Neuse River. New Bern-Craven County Public Library

The house is believed to have been constructed by New Bern merchant James Coor in the late 1770s. As originally built, the house was a large two-story center-hall plan residence, two rooms deep, with a gable roof and two interior chimneys. It was constructed on the northwest corner of East Front and New streets and faced New. Coor sold the house to Thomas Emory in 1778. In 1806 it became the town home of George Pollock, one of the wealthiest planters in the state. It was here in 1819 that Pollock entertained President James Monroe and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun during their visit to New Bern. By the late 19th century the house was the property of the Manly family who sold it to New Bern merchant E.K. Bishop in 1900.

E.K. Bishop, from Carraway, Crown of Life, 1940.

Edward K. Bishop (1860-1951) was a successful commission merchant and dedicated churchman and philanthropist. After acquiring the Manly property Bishop hired New Bern's prolific architect Herbert Woodley Simpson to design plans for remodeling the old home and W.E. Brock to supervise the construction. The result was a near complete rebuilding of the house, inside and out, between 1906 and 1907. As the New Bern Daily Journal remarked on May 1, 1907, the original house had been "overhauled to such an extent that the identity is essentially lost." Not only was the appearance of the house changed but it was also reoriented on its lot by being moved back several feet and turned ninety degrees to face East Front Street and the Neuse River.

Herbert Woodley Simpson (1870-1945), New Bern architect.

Coor-Bishop House, first floor plan by Herbert Woodley Simpson.

The only significant portion of the original house remaining after this drastic remodeling was the fine mahogany-trimmed stair, a near duplicate of the stair in the John Wright Stanly House.

Coor-Bishop House as remodeled 1906-1907. New Bern Historical Society

While the Coor-Bishop House today is a fine example of the Colonial Revival style, and while it is good that the 18th-century stair was saved, we are left wondering what the rest of the original interior was like and what happened to it. A clue to its disposition may lie in an advertisement which began running in the Daily Journal the month the reconstruction was completed.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

or how the remains of a Union gunboat were retrieved from a watery grave!

By John B. Green III

Detail of J.O. Davidson, Confederates Burning the Gunboat Underwriter, from The American Heritage Century Collection of Civil War Art, 1974.

The U.S.S. Underwriter, Union Navy gunboat, began life as a side-wheel commercial steamer constructed in Brooklyn, New York in 1852. Purchased by the U.S. Navy, like many other civilian craft in the early days of the Civil War, she was converted to a gunboat for blockade duty in August 1861. The ship saw extensive action along the coast and in the sound regions of North Carolina, participating in the attack on New Bern, March 14, 1862. She would be engaged in various duties in and around New Bern through early 1864.

The U.S.S. Underwriter fell victim to a daring Confederate commando raid, part of a larger attempt to retake New Bern from the occupying Union forces. In the early morning hours of February 2, 1864, the Confederate commandos led by Commander John Taylor Wood approached the ship in longboats and, after a brief fight, overpowered the Underwriter's crew and seized the ship. The Confederate plan was to get the ship underway and use her guns to assist the larger land assault on New Bern. It was soon discovered that the ship's boiler fires were banked and that it would take too long to get up steam. At the same time Union shore batteries had detected the Confederate efforts to make away with the Underwriter and had begun to fire upon the vessel and her southern captors. Commander Wood ordered the ship to be set afire and, taking his Union prisoners with him, abandoned the vessel. The fires and eventual explosion of the Underwriter's magazine sent the gunboat to the bottom of the Neuse River. Much of the vessel was salvaged during and after the war but a large debris field remained along the river's muddy bottom.

In 1986 the debris field was discovered by recreational divers in the Neuse River just off the Maola Milk plant property. The largest identifiable piece of the Underwriter was a damaged and slightly charred naval gun carriage. The divers alerted the state underwater archaeologists at Fort Fisher, North Carolina and plans were soon laid to explore the site and retrieve the gun carriage. After conservation, the gun carriage would become a major addition to the Civil War room of the New Bern Academy Museum. After recovering hundreds of smaller artifacts from the site, the recovery of the gun carriage was set for June 26, 1987. On that day a large air bag was attached to the gun carriage and inflated, lifting the heavy object from the river bottom. The air bag with the gun carriage slung beneath it was towed down the Neuse, around Union Point, and up the Trent to Barbour Boat Works.The shipyard's crane lifted the Underwriter's gun carriage and placed it on a trailer for transport to the conservation facility at Fort Fisher. After many months of stabilization, the gun carriage was returned to New Bern and placed in the New Bern Academy Museum.

The following photographs of the recovery of the Underwriter gun carriage were taken by the author on June 26, 1987.

The gun carriage, still underwater beneath the air bag, arrives at Barbour Boat Works.

Slings holding the gun carriage are attached to the cable of the shipyard crane.

The gun carriage breaks the water for the first time in 123 years.

The gun carriage is swung away from the water . . .

. . . and carefully lowered onto the waiting trailer.

The gun carriage parked at Tryon Palace before beginning its journey to Fort Fisher.